Nintendo’s Iwata apologizes to core gamers, talks iPhone

Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata apologizes to core gamers about the lack of …

With gamers still expressing their disappointment with Nintendo's E3 keynote, company President Satoru Iwata has reiterated what legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto explained, saying that it was simply the wrong venue. Iwata then went on to apologize to core gamers and reaffirm that Nintendo is indeed working on games for them.

"If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means," Iwata told Forbes. "We are sorry about media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about Super Mario or Legend of Zelda. However, the fact of the matter is the so-called 'big titles' need a long, long development period...We really didn't think this year's E3 media briefing was the time to do so."

Iwata also discussed the potential competition from Apple's iPhone, which is being touted by some as the next big portable gaming device. Iwata, however, is not too worried. "I use the iPhone myself," he explained. "I know that it's an attractive product, but when I look carefully at the iPhone's users vs. the users of our Nintendo DS, I understand there are some overlaps. And if you ask 'Is the overlap too big?,' my answer is no, not so much."

While it's nice to see Nintendo recognize the frustration of its core audience, it would be even nicer if they would actually show some games to satiate them. Instead we get yet another promise that these games are coming, with no real information.

Ben's thoughts

Why not show off a game like Mad World? Why not hype the fact that Guitar Hero: World Tourwill finally bring a rhythm game to the Wii that offers downloadable content? Why not show more of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown for the DS instead of a simple splash screen? Nintendo had things to talk up and it would have been easy to placate the hardcore crowd.

I think we're seeing many excuses now that Nintendo is starting to realize just how badly it came off at this year's E3. My take on it? Nintendo is very, very out of touch with what the core gamer wants. The question is, now that they are beginning to realize it, do they care?